‘Lights Of London’ is the second single by 22 yrd old singer-songwriter/producer Jack Robert Hardman through Pleasant Pursuits / Essential Music.

Packed full of pulsating rhythms and intricate melody lines, ‘Lights of London’ tells the tale of a relentless desire to reach the bright lights of the big city. Fusing Hardman’s distinctive vocals and trademark production style, the song paints a dreamy picture of life in London, looking from the outside in.

22-year-old Jack Robert Hardman writes and records his own brand of quirky pop music from his home studio in Ascot, UK. His intention of pushing the boundaries of production each time he records a new track has certainly been realised. You may have heard how, in the summer of 2011, Jack made his track ‘Sorry to George’ available as a free download. It attracted great excitement and interest from the blogosphere, being described as ‘dangerously addictive’ and ‘fantastically appealing’ by Eclectically Challenged ; support from radio came from John Kennedy (Xfm) and the BBC’s Tom Robinson , Huw Stephens and his local BBC Introducing presenter Linda Serck. See Music Week The Tastemakers below.

‘Famous’ is the first official single and is set for release through Pleasant Pursuits / Essential Music and Marketing. An acoustic blend of distinctive vocals and folk guitar melodies, the track’s intelligent juxtaposition of simple musical style with a lyrically complex theme showcases Hardman’s creative sensitivity at its best. The song tells of a youth’s insatiable desire to make something of their life, without any real plan on how to do it. In Hardman’s words “Famous captures the blissful naivety of youth that leads us to believe we can achieve anything.” You can check out the video below.

“His sound and writing have grown in range, and daring every time we’ve heard him”Tom Robinson, BBC 6 Music

“Harks back to happier days like a pleasing meld of Belle & Sebastian and The Postal Service”Middleboop

“Jack Robert Hardman should come with a warning label: his insanely
catchy pop will stick in your head pretty much forever. He’s a supreme talent with a unique voice and take on life.”BBC Berkshire Linda Serck

You can also stream “Famous” from our SoundCloud page:

You can also listen to a sampler of Jack’s album from our SoundCloud page too:

Picture this: Four twenty-something guys from various parts of the UK meet at a Ryan Adams gig in Manchester and decide to start a band. City Reign were born (did the Ryan Adams fans among you notice the reference to his track ‘City Rain, City Streets’ there)? Next, BBC 6Music’s Steve Lamacq picks up on and plays ‘Making Plans’, noticing the Idlewild influences. He then invites the band on air for an interview and hails them as a band to look out for, along with The Heartbreaks and Driver Drive Faster. Not a bad start for a DIY single.

Another previous single ‘Out In The Cold’ is included on the ‘Numbers For Street Names’ EP, which received a raving recommendation from The Independent (see quote below and the video on www.cityreign.net).

To complete the EP, there are three brand new tracks recorded at Blueprint studios. As singer Chris Bull says, “We’re extremely proud of these 5 songs. It’s a good mix of the punchier pop songs like the singles Making Plans and Out In the Cold, alongside bigger sounding songs like ‘The Line’. It closes nicely with a new song called ‘Anywhere Anyway’ recorded at the 11th hour, that we knew instantly where had to close the record. Although the song is stripped back, the vocal layers give it depth and it shows the attention to detail we put into everything we do.”

‘Numbers For Street Names’ will be released on the bands own label Car Boot Records on CD and digital download. It will be available to pre-order via the band’s brand new website www.cityreign.net from 1st October.

Track listing

1 Making Plans (GBK6T1000001)

2 Sleep Easy (GBK6T1000004)

3 The Line (GBK6T1000005)

4 Out In The Cold (GBK6T1000002)

5 Anywhere Anyway (GBK6T1000006)

Quotes

“Fans of Yuck and Dinosaur Jr will approve of City Reign’s anthemic, grunge. A million failing garage bands will ask why.”

The Independent

“‘Making Plans’, I do like that.”

Steve Lamacq BBC 6 Music

“I’m really digging the wistful lyrics, powerful guitars and pounding drums. It couldn’t be a better slice of English city life if it tried…it all makes for something very atmospheric”

There Goes The Fear

Murky guitar atmospherics, emote an almighty passion and power.

Manchester Evening News

This independence of mind can be heard in their driving guitar rock sound, unphased by suggestions that the guitar band is destined for the musical scrap heap.

Music Week

The Manchester-based band’s third single manages to hit all the right notes.

The Narrows’ second single, Able Danger has already garnered rave reviews from the likes of Tom Robinson, who had the guys in for an interview on his BBC 6 Music Introducing show. This was on the back of their T in The Park performance in August (25:08:11) where they completely wowed the audience, as you can see in the video footage below, which outstripped the views of White Lies and Everything Everything‘s performances.

Utilising a laptop and guitars (and no live drummer), the track is pulsing with 80s electro-pop or, ‘dark futuristic electro pop’, as the band describe their music. “It’s a three and a half minute frenzy of loud guitars; synths that sound like broken computers; and snake-like drum-loops that keep threatening to go mad and eat someone! It is about fear, government, panic, terror and secrets. A mix between the electronic side of Radiohead, Kraftwerk and Queens of the Stone Age – a real pop song for right now.”

Radio 1’s Huw Stephens and Zane Lowe both tweeted about The Narrows: Zane saying he liked the video to their last single, ‘Initials MM’. Let’s hope he tweets the same about their new video too!

QUOTES:

Mike Joyce: (BBC 6 Music/East Village Radio)

“I like the fact they don’t sound like they are from Manchester!”

HIGH VOLTAGE:

“Here, right here, we could have the makings of another Manchester legend. Like Delphic run through a dark ambient wringer, or Johnny Greenwood playing session on a Portishead record comes the Narrows’ debut, and it is fucking ESSENTIAL… Manchester’s best dark alternative band… when it comes to current Manchester bands, The Narrows really are leading the pack”

“…one of the most original, provocative and iconoclastic new Manchester bands of 2011.”

MUSIC FROM RAINY SKIES:

“The Narrows’ sound almost transcends era pigeon-holing… the lyrical content is every bit as confrontational as the music… piercing lyrical genius, fantastically commanding… The Narrows will take over the world.”

Out Now!

“…West Country Jamie T or Eminem…”Q Magazine

“Cosmo Jarvis has made an album of teenage angst and the like and it’s perfectly adequate. But he has a new song called ‘Gay Pirates’ which hints at a deeper talent. It’s vivid, violent and the most tragically moving love song we’ve heard all year….evidence we might have a miniature Tom Waits on our hands ”

Dan Martin, NME Magazine Sept ‘09

“His debut album is a crammed double album of teenage angst, desire and social comment. It’s a bold intriguing mess that suggests he has an exciting future”

Neil McCormick, Daily Telegraph Nov ‘09

“Inarguably gifted he makes films as well as writing, playing and brilliantly engineering his inventive music. A fab new talent with imagination overload.”

James McNair, MOJO, Nov ‘09

“A man who believes in letting everything out. His debut album comes across as a daffy West Country Jamie T or Eminem”

Ian Harrison, Q, Nov ‘09

“Jarvis has the potential to be a future Springsteen. Certainly his songs would do the young Boss proud. One of the best debuts of the year and a force to watch in the years ahead ”

Daily Mirror, Oct 30th ‘09

“A veritable one man band his toe tapping and foot stomping tales of love and lust slot in well with the modern troubadours such as Jamie T and Frank Turner. His confidence reigns on this accomplished double album ”

AOL Music online Oct ‘09

“It’s a completely extraordinary record – it’s homemade, all by himself. He shot a video himself for a total cost of £125 which looks like a really really great cinematic black and white movie”

Tom Robinson BBC 6 Music

Championed by the undeniably influential Zane Lowe (Radio 1), Cosmo’s self-titled debut album is almost guaranteed to make waves. This young, new, self-reliant artist doesn’t believe in conformity, cop-outs or half measures. With so many ideas, musical styles and inspiration pumping through his 19-year old imagination it is little wonder that his eponymous album was going to be anything other than an unconventional affair. The two disc album delves into every corner of the teenage mind, from upbeat, poppier tracks such as Jessica Alba’s Number, She’s Got You and Crazy Screwed Up Lady to the darker, more sinister Mummy’s Been Drinking and Problems. Utilising everything from recorders to banjos, Cosmo Jarvis proves beyond reasonable doubt that he is the musical troubadour we always suspected he was!

Cosmo is also a film-maker, and contributes regularly to Babelgum and YouTube. Check out his videos for ‘She’s got You’, which was his first single and ‘Problems’ (see post below), from his current single.

Two brand new tracks: ‘Run‘ and ‘Tear Me to Pieces‘ have just been uploaded to The Cordels MySpace.

The Cordels have already won airplay from some well respected quarters. Nationally Zane Lowe (Radio 1), Lamacq and Tom Robinson (BBC 6Music), the Xfm Network playlist and Kerrang Radio have lent early support. The boys have drawn comparisons with that other classic three-piece The Police, with each band member bringing a simmering passion and effortless cool to an incredible live show…

“Just had my ears opened to The Cordels –

I recommend you opening your ears too”

Chris Long, BBC Manchester Introducing

Check out the video for the single, directed by the band’s bass player Kennedy. You can also check out Lies, Deceit (Live) on Ask Me PR’s Soundcloud.

THE CORDELS’ debut release sees the Warrington three-piece digging deep for their lyrical themes whilst deftly crafting an anthemic, indie-pop classic. An early demo of the track found its way to top producer, Jim Lowe [Stereophonics, Foo Fighters, The Charlatans], who immediately offered his mixing skills to polish it into the gem it is now. THE CORDELS have won airplay in some well-respected quarters. Radio 1’s Zane Lowe gives early support, as does Tom Robinson for BBC 6 Music and Loz Guest at Kerrang! Radio.THE CORDELS are drawing comparisons with the early days of that other classic three-piece, The Police, with each band member bringing a simmering passion and an effortless cool to an incredible live show.

Justin Hawkins (The Darkness) has hung up the spandex and joined forces with charismatic six-piece, SAVING AIMEE. The result is an energetic, highly charged and lively slice of pop-rock – ‘We’re The Good Guys’. Fresh from a sold-out UK tour, and heavily supported debut single, ‘Small Talk’ (The Box, 4Music, Zane Lowe and Kerrang! A-list rotation). It’s a riotous tune from a band that’s set to break teenage hearts everywhere!

Release date: 17 August 2009

Label: Slippery People Recordings

Available from: iTunes

The Cordels‘ first single, Dance in Time, sees the twentysomething Warrington three-piece digging deep for their lyrical themes whilst deftly crafting an anthemic, indie-pop classic.

An early demo of the track found its way to top producer, Jim Lowe [quote below], who immediately offered his mixing skills to polish it into the gem it is now.

With a songwriting dexterity and musical prowess that belie their years, The Cordels have won airplay in some well-respected quarters. Radio 1’s Zane Lowe gives early support, as does Tom Robinson for BBC 6 Music and Loz Guest at Kerrang Radio.

After only three months in the current line-up The Cordels are drawing comparisons with the early days of that other classic three-piece, The Police, with each band member bringing a simmering passion and an effortless cool that explode into a frenetic, self-assured live performance.

Dance in Time is a fan favourite and questions how free we really are living in the affluent West and how much we’re constrained by social pressure, work, money and debt.